SIR Tom Hunter is urging ambitious Scottish business people who “want to blow the doors off” to consider applying for the Scale Up 2.0 programme which addresses the lack of strategic support available to high-growth businesses and aims to grow the turnover of participating firms to over £100 million.
“The next cohort will start the programme in January 2024, he said. “We’re looking for really ambitious companies who want to blow the doors off,” Sir Tom added. “The companies we’re looking for are probably today doing about £15-20,0m turnover – established businesses that really want to grow.
“So, we want to hear from 12 founders and entrepreneurs who are ready to take the next step.”
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Businesses must be headquartered in Scotland and be able to demonstrate a record of strong year-on-year growth – and the potential and ambition to achieve significant revenues within the next five years.
Sir Tom noted that the programme puts strong emphasis on peer-to-peer learning with the opportunity to hear from global business leaders such as Professor Sir Christopher Evans, retail guru Theo Paphitis and his Go Radio Business Show co-host, Lord Willie Haughey.
On joining the programme, there is an initial “deep dive” into each business to identify and align the team on the specific challenges and opportunities facing the entrepreneurial leader, the collective executive team, and the individual functional leaders.
It also includes quarterly residential retreats at Blair Estate over a 12-month period where business leaders experience a blend of masterclasses and focused dinners led by Sir Tom.
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The programme is heavily subsidised by the Hunter Foundation and Scottish National Investment Bank with participants contributing a fee of £11,000 plus VAT.
“Our first cohort has been really successful,” Sir Tom noted. “We will put you in touch with them and they will tell you the truth about the programme and what happens. We are looking for Scotland’s next huge businesses.”
Lord Haughey added: “I recommend this to any business in this bracket – if you are ready to take that quantum leap, get your application in.”
Applications close on October 31.
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